Winding a Humbucker: My Method

Donations to my PayPal at [e-mail] (paypal.me/md4239) are always appreciated. I appreciate any support if you're so inclined! My method for winding humbucker bobbins.

[@codelicious6590]

Yes, thank you very much!

[@guitar_md]

You're welcome. Thanks for the support!

[@magneticairlab]

Thanks!

[@CharafB1]

Hello, when a humbucker is in series, should the winding of the 2 coils be the same direction for them to be in phase? and also if we can reverse where the signal flows in the coil weither clockwise or counter clockwise, doesn't that mean that there is no real start or finish, bcz start can be finish and finish can be start depends where you want the direction of the winding to be right? thanks for the video

[@guitar_md]

I wind both coils in the same direction, then connect the finish wire from each coil. And yes, technically speaking, either end can be start or finish depending on how it's wired. Though pickups generate alternating current, not direct current, so there is also not a "positive" or "negative" lead on a pickup to begin with. Start and finish are more just lingo to make explaining and understanding the wiring easier. But on a technical level you're right, there is no true "start" or "finish" as it depends on how it's wired. This is like on many "reverse wound, reverse polarity" Strat middle pickups: some of them are *not* actually reverse wound, but merely color coded differently: they put a yellow or white wire *first,* where a pickup will usually have a black wire. So it can be wound the same, but wiring it in the opposite direction causes the phase the swap. I prefer winding all coils the same direction, then just wiring them differently, to make things easier. You can think of it as "reverse wired" instead of "reverse wound." Many Strat middle pickups, and humbuckers, *may* use reverse wound coils. For me, I seriously think I have some form of undiagnosed dyslexia, and this is incredibly confusing to me. So I avoid it completely. Every coil gets wound in the same direction, and to swap the phase, I merely wire them differently. So humbuckers, both wound counterclockwise, then the finish wire from each are joined. For Strats, all pickups wound in the same direction, but on the middle pickup I wire the "start" lead to hot, and the "finish" lead to ground, while it's usually start to ground, finish to hot. I like keeping things simple. I'll be the first to admit this stuff has a lot of "mirror image" complications and it can be very difficult to understand if you struggle with these things like I do. Same direction winding seems easiest to me. For humbucker color coding on the "pigtails," I use black for start, white for finish. So series connection is white - white, then black - black are your pickup leads, which can be soldered either to hot or ground. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more clarification or have any more questions and I'll do my best to help.

[@CharafB1]

@@guitar_md thankyou so much

[@user-dr6tm4wc4m]

How do you wind the other coil? Same direction as the first one or opposite?

[@guitar_md]

Same direction. Then the finish leads from each coil are joined together for the series connection. I'm working on a *dramatically* updated version of this video where I'll go over everything in much greater detail. I have some new tricks as well. Excited to get it published!

[@Zacharycmanleyart]

Great video. how is your spool set up in relation to guide hand?

[@guitar_md]

Thanks! Full details can be seen in my "Making a Single Coil Pickup: Complete Guide" video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3PUd6J4f9dkZtEsi=vSIOkS1H4jjUEKzo I make spool holders, currently out of Rubbermaid pitchers, but I've used these clasp style plastic jars in the past. I drill out the lid and glue a wooden or glass bead into the hole, then thread the magnet wire through that. I'm also not done yet. I'm trying to see if I can come up with a pre-tensioner to use before the Velcro tensioner. Whisker Disks do work great. But I'd want something a little less aggressive that will help even more with getting even tension.

[@Zacharycmanleyart]

@@guitar_md thanks bud, I have the hardest time with the small ~4oz 42spools. 40 is fine, but can't get high output versions. The 40s sounded great tho, can't even tell they're lower output. Thanks again for responding and the videos